The invention relates to an identification system suitable for identifying objects from a remote interrogation station. More specifically, the invention provides an electronic identification device including a logic circuit and a memory, a trigger circuit and a transmitter positioned on an object and a remote interrogation station including a receiver and data processor, together with means for remotely programming the electronic identification device with transit information when the object is moving relative to the interrogation station. The invention also includes a system and apparatus for identifying vehicles traveling along multi-lane bidirectional highways by using a roadway antenna connected to the receiver of the remote interrogation station. The roadway antenna comprises an antenna array traversing the highway lanes, and includes a collinear antenna array positioned in a reflector shield filled with a dielectric and buried in a flush-mount relationship with the roadway surface.
There is a need for an identification system wherein moving objects such as railroad cars, passing an interrogation station, identify themselves for both accounting and control purposes. Such a system would also be applicable to boats, trucks, shipping containers, mail bags, pallets, etc. As well as these commercial applications, there is also a need for an identification system for monitoring animals in their natural habitat, including both fish and birds. The system could be applicable for identification of humans, for control and security purposes, the identification of livestock, and many other uses. In addition to the above uses, the ability to read, write, delete or modify data in a digital form makes the system applicable to a variety of uses, an example of which is a credit card. In this case, the system serves as a portable interrogable memory for information such as a credit balance.
The complexity of modern transportation systems has increased to the point where automated traffic management has become essential for efficient operation. This is true of railways, highway truck transportation, urban transit systems, mining and logging operations, livestock management, and even factory personnel, to name but a few. Early attempts to meet these needs followed the premise that all that was necessary was to identify the individual vehicles automatically and all other management functions could then be carried out in a central computer. This notion belies the fact that a vast amount of data communications with a central data base are then required. In many cases, particularly when operations cover a large geographic area, this approach is both expensive and impractical. In addition, initial encoding of earlier devices was not satisfactory. The device was either factory-programmed, requiring a cross-reference table to relate the arbitrary number to that of the vehicle, or it was field-programmed by physical and/or electric contact, requiring sealing in the field to ensure package integrity.
What is needed is a transponder system having a high gain antenna but with broad transverse coverage to ensure that transponder communication can take place between an interrogation station and an information and identity storage system carried by a highway vehicle.